I am new to this blogging thing. So I figured I would start off with an easy one. What is a Professional Pet Sitter? What distinguishes us from the rest?

Professional Pet Sitting isn’t just a hobby. It is a passion. It takes hard work, dedication, sometimes blood, lots of sweat and many, many tears.

I started this business in 2006 and since then it has grown considerably. I started with the basics. I got a membership to Pet Sitters International (PSI). I got a business licence. I obtained liability insurance and bonding. I was a professional now, right? Oh, there was so much more.

Suddenly, I had to know my state’s tax laws! I had to know accounting! I had to come up with contracts and forms for my clients! I had to be aware of liability and the fact that I was in and out of people’s homes caring for their furry children! It suddenly took on a whole new level of responsibility.

It was so much more than just playing with dogs and cats all day! Thankfully I had back up. I have used the resources at the Small Business Development Center. I reached out, if only online, to PSI to help guide me through and took advantage of their internet forums. I spoke to local pet sitters who became great friends. We talk all the time. We are each other’s sounding boards, emergency backup and a shoulder to cry on.

Now, I have a background with animals, as I am sure every pet sitter does. But it reached much further than growing up with pets. Thankfully, I also have a background working in the veterinary field. I was comfortable and confident in giving medications to pets. I can give insulin injections. I knew the signs and symptoms to look for in a cat diagnosed with IBD, or the tricks to get pets to eat. But there was still more to learn.

I read everything I could get my hands on about pets. I took webinars and kept up to speed with local trainers classes (for us humans). I volunteered with rescue organizations and understood why pets can go “shelter crazy”.

Then in 2010, I attended my first pet sitting conference. Level up. PSI has an educational conference each year. It was 4 days of pure awesomeness. I met with pet sitters from around the country. I am not exaggerating when I say I met friends for life. I got to talk to prominent people in the pet industry, our celebrities if you will. Published authors and worldwide speakers. I got to pick their brains and listen as they taught seminars and panels. My brain was on overload. I got to meet and learn from people in my profession whose businesses I admire and aspire to. But we were all there to learn from each other.

This is not an easy job. It is not for someone with a weak stomach. It takes an incredible amount of passion and drive to make it successful. I have had days where I worked so long there were blisters on my feet, my hair was matted with slobber, and I had eaten from the drive through all day because that’s all the time there was. I have cleaned up more messes than you can even imagine. Ones where I’m not kidding the dog exploded. I have been pushed to my limits, yelled at, bruised and beaten by overzealous pets. I have had emergencies and rushed pets to the Emergency Vet on Sunday because these things never happen during business hours. I have cried and cried as pets pass, and I have held clients hands as their pets cross the Rainbow Bridge.

And yet I wake up every day thankful for what I do and how I get to spend my days. I would do it all over again in a heartbeat.